After the recent pants recall, lululemon athletica's (LULU 0.06%) management may be getting their feet held to the fire. The company just cut its EPS estimate for the year by about 10%, and its executive team will need to prove it has its supply chain under control. Still, the yoga outfitter has been one of the fastest-growing retailers in the past five years with a share price appreciation to boot. In this excerpt from our premium research report, we take a look at the people running Lululemon.
Leadership
Founder Chip Wilson left his day-to-day role in the company as chief innovation and branding officer back in January 2012, though he has remained on as chairman of the board and effectively owns 30% of the company's stock.
CEO Christine Day took the reins back in 2008 and has been a success by all conventional measures. The company's stock has soared as it has expanded in the United States, more than doubling its total store count, and appears poised for continued growth. Day brings to the table over two decades of experience at Starbucks, where she most recently led the company's operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Her experience at a very similar company also focused on a high-end consumer, and developing an experience central to the brand figures to benefit Lululemon, as does her knowledge of the Asian market, where the apparel retailer is just starting to expand.
The company's two other principal executives are CFO John Currie and Chief Product Officer Sheree Waterson. Currie joined the company in 2007, coming from Intrawest Corporation, a travel and destination resorts provider, where he served as CFO from 2004 to 2006. Before signing on with Lululemon in 2007, Waterson served as president of Speedo North America, as well as holding executive positions at Levi Strauss & Co. and Enfashion.com.
